Sander Stoneman
Sir Sander Stoneman is a 34 year old Asgarnian who is an experienced adventurer and campaigner. He has been on many adventures and has done a great many things in his time on Gielinor. He has been inducted into the ranks of The Order of St. Rimmington's Sarothic Church, the White Knights and the Temple Knights. Appearance Physical Sander stands 6'7" and weighs 265 pounds. He is broad in the shoulders and is an intimidating figure. He is physically stronger than most men, even being stronger than he looks. Although he looks big and bulky, he is surprisingly light on his feet, due to his great experience in combat and his military training. Although initially imposing, Sander has a kind face. He has a warm smile framed by his short goatee and mustache. He has dark brown hair and kind blue eyes with a spark of Fremennik wildness to them. He presents himself confidently and is generally in a good mood. He has been through many battles and adventures and has had some injuries along the way. He has scars but they are generally covered by clothing. Apparel Sander can usually be seen wearing his adventuring gear which includes a brown chain shirt with leather coverings, his longsword at his hip and his dagger on his lower back. These weapons have seen him through many campaigns and adventures. He also has a dark leather cavalier hat that is almost never off his head. To finish off his outfit, Sander has a silver ring which was given to him by a friend in Draynor Village. Sander is never without his holy symbol. This was given to him by his oldest friend, Dion Magnan when he was finished his studies on religion. He has never taken this symbol off due to his faith to Saradomin and his great respect for Dion. Abilities Sander has traveled many places and has learned many things in his time. He is fluent and able to read and write in Human Basic, Fremennik and is in the process of trying to understand Elvish, being able to speak a very bastardized version of the language. He is a master of longsword, two handed weapons and unarmed combat. He is competent with scimitars and daggers. He is a fair ranger as well, having skill with bows, crossbows and throwing weapons. He is by no means a master at these, but he is proficient. Sander is also a very studious person. Many shelves of his house are filled with books, tomes and scrolls from the many places he has visited and histories of many locations in Gielinor. Family History Sander's paternal great-grandfather was a Fremennik warrior from Relleka that came to Asgarnia to fight in the Runecrafting Crusades. He later settled to the forest west of what is now Gunnarsgrunn. Sander's maternal grandfather was a hedge knight turned Temple Knight that served along side Sir Tiffy Cashien for many years. Childhood Sander was born to an Asgarnian woman and a half-Fremennik, half-Asgarnian man in the 136th year of the Fifth Age. During this year, the city of Ardougne was divided into two sections, East Ardougne and West Ardougne. They lived in the woods west of Gunnarsgrunn and north of Falador. From an early age, Sander's father instilled in him a sense of adventure and pride for his Fremennik heritage. He taught him how to live off the land, how to hunt and how to fish. He also taught him the basics of unarmed fighting. At the age of 8 he was sent to the White Knights castle at the behest of Sir Tiffy Cashien. Sir Tiffy had served with Sander's maternal grandfather. Sander's grandfather had no sons of his own, so he made Sir Tiffy promise that he would take his grandson on as a knight and train him. Sander became a page at the White Knight castle until the age of 13 when he had a chance run-in with a young Dion Magnan in Falador square. Sander took a great interest in the peculiar looking man in the blue robes. He watched Dion from a distance for a while and saw that, while he did not look at all like a knight, he was pious and that he went out of his way to help others. He grew curious as to how many different adventures and places a man like that had seen and he decided then that he would live that sort of life as well. He went up to the strange blue robed man and by the end of the day, Sander had packed his things from the castle and put his White Knight training on hold. As Dion's Apprentice Sander traveled with Dion to the city of Varrock to begin his training. It was there that he met Father Lawrence, whom Dion had a strong friendship. It was in the Saradominist church of Varrock that Sander started to further his knowledge of religions. He was already a devout Saradominist, due to his time spent with the White Knights, but he had always wondered about the other religions. They stayed in Varrock for some time. In between his lessons in religion, Dion and Sander would explore the city, finding others that needed assistance and learning about how a city functions. They would go down into the sewers and take care of the infestation of giant rats and other nasty things. After a few close run-ins where Sander was close to being injured, Dion decided that Sander's swordsmanship could use some work. Not that Sander was bad with a sword, but to fix the gaps left over by his arrogance and size. Always big for his age and always being able to knock his opponent over or knock the weapon from their hand, Sander thought that this was the best way to win in a duel. But whenever he was to spar Dion, he lost. This frustrated Sander, because he was trained by what he thought were the best teachers in all of Asgarnia but Dion always seemed to be able to best him. Dion emphasized speed, footwork and technique over the slash and bash that Sander was used to. After about three months in Varrock, Sander had finished his basic studies on all known religions and had refined his sword technique and footwork dramatically. It was at this time that Dion gave him his first and only silver holy symbol as a reward for his hard work and dedication to his studies. Dion, at this time, went off on his own through the farmlands of Misthalin to preach the word of Saradomin. This left Sander to work on his other skills. He frequented the sewers and honed his skills in many forms of combat. During this time, he learned of an infestation of giants, holding up in the sewers and caves around Varrock. He began tracking them and mapping their locations. After he had all of the necessary information he went to the city guard and showed them his findings. The guard began to lead a small task force down to fight off the infestation, with Sander showing them the way. The attack was a success and they managed to kill the mob of giants using the method Sander had suggested. It was because of this attack that earned him the nickname "Giantsbane". When Dion had returned from his pilgrimage in the farmlands, he had heard of Sander's work in assisting the city guard and felt that Sander was well on his way to completing his training. Dion and Sander continued traveling around Misthalin and Asgarnia, helping others and preaching the word of Saradomin. Return to the White Knights A few years had passed since the attack on the giants in Varrock and Dion had began to notice that Sander had learned all that he could from him. It was at this time that Sander graduated from Dion's teachings. It was then that Sander had decided to finish his White Knights training and returned to Falador. During his training with with White Knights, he became friends with Sir Owen and Eva Cashien. He grew close with Eva due to his relationship with Sir Tiffy. He quickly finished the training, due to his time with Dion and made quite the impression on the commanders of the White Knight Order. He was knighted when he was 19 years old. Assistant to the Traveling Teacher of Falador After he had been knighted, Sander began to feel a sense of loss from his old days as a traveler. He wanted to followed his old mentor's teachings and begin to mentor his own apprentices. He had wrote to Dion and asked if he could join him on the road again. A few weeks later Dion returned to Falador, and Sander left the knights once again on the condition that he would return if called upon. Dion and Sander picked up where they left off and continued traveling around the world, this time, going west, through Taverley and Burthorpe into Kandarin. During this time, Dion and Sander engaged in conflict with a Zamorakian cult known as "Dragon's Breath". The leader and Sander fought one on one in the baron wasteland known as "The Wilderness". Sander, with his superior military training and swordsmanship, won the fight but he allowed him to live on the condition that he leave the continent and never return. He was later killed in a shipwreck in the southern ocean. The Underground Pass Dion and Sander had been trying for years to find a way to the rumoured land of the elves. Then when reading in the castle library in East Ardougne, Sander had found an answer. There was a cave in West Ardougne that supposedly lead into the forests of the elven lands. Sander sent a message to his old mentor immediately and tried to dig up as much information as he could as he waited for Dion to arrive. He found out that there was another rumour circulating about the supposed "plague" that had infected the quarantined West Ardougne. But it was only that, a rumour. There was an adventurer who had been seen entering and leaving West Ardougne with no apparent side-effects. Dion was in East Ardougne within a week and ready to move on any information Sander had dug up. They had spent the next two days preparing for a long adventure into a dark cave. It was a perilous week-long trek, but in the end, they were able to finally find a way out. The Elven Lands As they exited the cave, they began to carefully wander around this uncharted land. The two of them made contact with the elves for the first time in their lives. They were surprised at many of the things they did not know about the elves and soon realized the elves had their own wars to attend. This experience impacted the two of them very deeply and changed the way they thought about the western world. Sander would often try to get back here to learn more about elven culture, history and military tactics. He has aided the elves of Lletya against small raids from the Iorwerth clan. Campaign against Vampyres When Sander and Dion returned from their adventures, they had noticed a rise in vampyres across the Salve barrier, particularly in Falador. This was simply not acceptable and they began a campaign to force them back across the Salve into Morytania. During one of the many campaigns against the vampyres, Sander became a member of the Myreque. Black Knight Raids During the campaigns against the growing vampyre threat in Falador, Sander had been summoned by Sir Tiffy to discuss the situation with the Kinshra threat. They had both agreed that both the vampyres and Kinshra presence in Falador had to end. Sir Tiffy was impressed with how effective the Order of St. Rimmington's was in their campaigns against the vampyres, but thought that the Kinshra matter should be solved by someone closer to the White and Temple Knights. Sander was given a squad of men and was told to go and raid the Kinshra Fortress under Taverley. The raids went off perfectly without a single loss of life for Sander and his squad and they were extremely effective in diminishing a good portion of Kinshra forces for the time being. Sander would be asked to do this many more times over the years due to his effectiveness and great leadership. Politics of Falador During the The Reign of The Good King Dion, Sander acted as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, The Captain of the City Watch, and the right hand and royal adviser of the king. It was his duty to protect Dion and lead other members of the Kingsguard. His other duties included setting the guard schedules, training new recruits and protect the castle and its occupants. He was the one that crafted Dion's crown and was the one that presented him with it during Dion's Coronation. He would faithfully serve for Dion's years as King. Although, he was glad when Dion decided to step down and focus more on the Order than with the political word, he would have continued serving faithfully as do his duty until the end of his days. Battle of Lumbridge With the outbreak of the Battle of Lumbridge, Sander and Dion led the monks of The Order of St. Rimmington's into the Saradominist camp. While there, the group of monks realized how this battle would impact the future of Gielinor and stayed to join their power to the growing number of Saradominist troops. Sander started to lead some of the monks out onto the battlefield in the earlier days of the battle to defend the Saradominist lines. The monks of St. Rimmington's became known throughout the camp as fearless battlers, taking any job that was assigned to them. Sander started gaining the reputation as a great tactician, never losing a single man. The higher ups in the leaders of the Great Army of Saradomin took notice of this and asked Sander to come back into service of the White Knights. Sander accepted and was then given a battalion of White Knights to command. This battalion was named Phoenix Battalion. Phoenix Battalion was quickly recognized as one of the most efficient in the army and legendary in its ability to maximize enemy casualties while minimizing their own. Dion's Disappearance During an outing into the battlefield, Dion went missing in action. This greatly effected Sander in a number of ways. Sander felt that he should have been there to protect Dion. He felt like he let his old friend down. He gathered many members of The Order together and had them go to all corners of Gielinor to search for their leader. Over the next few weeks, Sander grew increasingly angry with the lack of results. The increased stress of leading Phoenix Battalion, being acting leader of the Order, being a member of Sir Amik's council and his growing fear that his old friend was actually gone for good was taking its toll on Sander. He had a very hard time trying to choose between loyalty to his faith and duty or his loyalty to his oldest and best friend. All of these factors weighed heavy on his mind and he started to let his frustration get the best of him and occasionally, without meaning too, took it out on his troops. One day while he and a squad of troops were out in the field, he was approached by a White Knight squire. This squire informed him that he was being called off the field and that it was of great importance. As he and his men retreated, he ordered them to defend the gate. He was brought to his tent by the squire and as he entered he saw a familiar set of blue robes and the scent of dwarf weed. Weeks of pent up fear and stress caused him to yell at his old mentor, oblivious to the fact that a frightened squire was still in the tent with them. The two then had a long talk about what had transpired over the past few weeks and after a few hours, they were brought up to speed on what the other had been through. Sander decided that with the battle drawing to a close, the Army didn't need him as much as the Order and he resigned his post to his second-in-command, Captain Chavers. After a few quick words with the Quartermaster about his possessions, he donned his blue robes once again and left the battlefield with Dion. Present Day Months after being removed from the City of Falador, Sander would go on more adventures on his own to get his mind away from the politics of Asgarnia. They had too long been weighting down his mind and protecting his old friends was beginning to take its toll on him once again. When he returned, he learned of Sir Bool Cowbra's removal of is command of The White Knights, his dishonourable discharge and his death. Sander was absolutely distraught when he had learned of his friends death and was angered in the way he was treated after the events of the Battle for Falador against Lord Vile. He then learned of a growing rebellion to take over Falador and overthrow Vile. When he learned of this rebellion, he began to train the new members of the Order in combat. The Order helped the rebel forces in overthrowing Vile and installing the new government before leaving Falador once again on their own terms. After the overthrowing of Vile's government, the Order had a melee tournament to see who in the Order was the best fighter. Sander was pitted up against Vance Steelwill in the first round and won. He was impressed at Vance's abilities but noticed that he was not trained and unrefined as a swordsman. He would also note Vance's anger as he fought. Sander would continue on to win the tournament and he would give the winnings to the person that came in second place. After this tournament many of the newer members of the Order, whom had never seen Sander in combat before this, had begun to ask him to train them. Sander would be happy that they would like to learn and would begin to hold sparring matches against any and all members wishing to improve their combat skills. This would lead to many members of the Order having friendly rivalries with each other and with Sander. All of them ending a session with the words "I will continue working hard and will beat you next time". He be asked by Vance Steelwill if he would become his mentor and teach him more about combat and the ways of Saradominism. Sander would accept Vance and make him is apprentice. The two could often be seen in the Order's citadel, training with the guards and with each other. Vance would learn quickly and Sander could see improvement with every session. He could also see the anger slowly begin to leave his young apprentice as the weeks went on. One day, Sander took Vance to the Baxtorian Falls for a training session in mental focus and spiritual, mental and physical balance. The two would reach the waterfall as the sun was rising and wade out into the water and behind the waterfall. Without a word, Sander would sit down and begin to focus his mind and let go of all of his troubles. After a while, Vance would do the same. They sat there in relative silence for a few hours, the only sound being the crashing of the water. When they left from under the falls, he could tell the anger that had plagued his young protegee had disappeared. Weapons and Armour Sander has many different weapons and pieces of armour to suit almost every situation. Due to his extensive military training with the White Knights and Temple Knights, he is competent in almost all forms of combat but he is only a master of a few. Due to his extensive knowledge of weapons, tactics and combat, he is the Master-of-Arms of The Order of St. Rimmington's Sarothic Church and is in charge of training new and young members in these matters. Weapons owned *Dragon longsword *Dragon dagger *Silvthril longsword *Icyene two-handed sword *Crossbows *Longbows *Variety of silver weapons Armour owned *Asgarnian kiteshield *Full set of Temple Knight issued armour *Full set of White Knight issued armour *Dragon armoured boots *A special issued set of armour given to him by Sir Tiffy Cashien Category:Characters Category:Humans Category:Saradominist Category:Adventurer Category:Protagonist Category:The Order of St. Rimmington's Sarothic Church Category:Knight Category:Temple Knights Category:White Knights Category:Warrior Category:Myreque Category:Military Category:Commander Category:Asgarnia Category:Entrana Category:Male Category:Featured Article Category:Lawful Category:Good